Skull fracture sends midfielder Mason into retirement

London, Feb 13: Hull City's English midfielder Ryan Mason was forced to retire from football after a year off the pitch due to a skull fracture suffered during a English Premier League (EPL) match, the 26-year-old announced on Tuesday.

Mason suffered a head-to-head collision with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill during a game at Stamford Bridge here on January 22, 2017, and had to undergo an emergency operation, reports Efe.

"I can confirm that following specialist medical advice, I am having to retire from playing professional football," said Mason, through a statement published on Hull City's website,

"I have worked tirelessly in order to be able to return to the pitch. Unfortunately, having taken expert medical advice I now have no option but to retire due to the risks involved given the nature of my injury," explained the Englishman, who played 69 games in the EPL with Hull City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Mason, raised in the lower teams of Tottenham Hotspur, came to Hull City as a star reinforcement in the summer of 2016 for 13 million pounds ($18 million), a record signing for the club.

At the time of his injury, he was one of the most promising English midfielders and was capped once with the England team.

"I am so proud to have come through the ranks to play for my club, the club I love. To have had the honour of captaining the team fills me with immense pride. Thank you to all of my teammates over the years, there are too many to mention, it's been a privilege to play alongside you all," he said.

"I'm retiring from the game with my head held high having done everything in my power over these past 13 months to have given myself every opportunity to return to the pitch," the player said in the note.

Mason returned to working out Hull City trainers in May of 2017, although he never specified a date for his return.